Chapter 200

In fact, the cooking method originally used by Liche for confit couldn’t reach that level of mastery.

From the start, her cooking shouldn’t have been able to advance to that level of technique.

The cooking method known as confit, while its exact origins are unclear, is generally believed to have been discovered as a preservation method for meat during the medieval period, evolving into a home-style cooking technique.

Naturally, being a method discovered in the medieval era and a common household technique, the original confit method wasn’t particularly refined.

Of course, it wouldn’t be.

The medieval period was a time when scientific approaches to cooking or molecular gastronomy didn’t exist.

Moreover, it was a method discovered while devising ways to preserve meat for long periods in ordinary households, not for noble dining tables.

How refined could such a method be?

Back then, the confit method was crude—basically cooking meat at a temperature just high enough to prevent frying, then turning off the heat and letting it cool in the oil for storage.

In reality, the incorporation of low-temperature cooking into confit only came after the establishment of the sous-vide cooking method, which was then adapted and refined.

Considering that, even if the cultures of the medieval and Renaissance periods were mixed, the culinary techniques of this world, which hadn’t even reached modernity, shouldn’t have been able to incorporate molecular gastronomy techniques like sous-vide.

It might have been possible for Liche to come up with the idea of confit, but…

Even if she did, her cooking method should have ended after cooking at around 140 degrees for an hour on the first day.

That was the limit of what could be considered a new cooking method within this world’s knowledge.

However…

After tasting Kurt’s cooking once, she saw something beyond the medieval-level techniques.

That scenery.

Thus, Liche, who would have been satisfied with just a step forward, wasn’t content with the confit she had made.

Believing her cooking could go further, confident in her improving skills, she continued to refine and refine.

Soon, the confit she made with cockatrice thigh meat…

Reached the level of Kurt’s sous-vide steak she had once tasted.

Having advanced a full step, Liche…

…

After finishing her meal and returning to her room, Liche quietly reflected on the cockatrice thigh confit she had made.

With this level of cooking, she had completely caught up to Kurt…

“No, I dare say this dish surpasses what Kurt made back then! I’ve finally overcome the wall that was Kurt.”

Yet, despite her confidence in surpassing Kurt, Liche didn’t feel the overwhelming joy she expected.

Instead, she felt a calmness, like reading a quest on the Adventurer Guild’s bulletin board.

That calmness felt like confirming an obvious fact all over again.

“I see. In the end, once you surpass it, everything feels meaningless…”

As a cook.

Or perhaps because she had grown a step further as a wizard.

She even found her obsession with surpassing Kurt somewhat laughable now.

But that didn’t mean everything was meaningless.

“Still, Kurt. Because I made you my rival, I was able to take a bigger step forward. Even if you and I are enemies… I can’t help but be grateful for that.”

Thus, Liche arbitrarily declared Kurt her rival, celebrated defeating him, and then arbitrarily sent him a mental thank-you.

“Thinking of that favor… even if I join Karina, Serena, and Mari’s party, I’ll make sure you don’t kick me out and accept me as a pack mule.”

And so, Liche began her self-centered train of thought.

“Ah…! I shouldn’t be sitting here. Now that I’ve finally surpassed Kurt in cooking, I need to tell Karina and the others!”

With that, Liche immediately went to Kurt’s group’s room, including Karina, and promised to treat them to dinner the next evening.

To steal Kurt’s place.

…

The next evening arrived.

*Clatter*

“Here. It’s done. Eat it before it gets cold.”

“Oh… looks delicious.”

Kurt’s eyes sparkled with interest as he reacted to the dish Liche brought out.

Seeing Kurt’s carefree expression, Liche secretly smirked.

*Heh. You can smile so leisurely only until today. Soon, you’ll be moved by my outstanding cooking skills.*

Unaware of Liche’s sinister and petty thoughts, Kurt and his party picked up their utensils and began eating the cockatrice thigh confit.

*Munch munch*

“Oh… this isn’t just an ordinary steak.”

“Oh? You noticed?”

“The cooking method used in this meat dish…”

*Oh? Could it be he wants to learn this method from me? Well… if he begs earnestly, I might consider taking him as my disciple.*

While Liche internally indulged in her petty thoughts, she outwardly maintained a calm smile and spoke leisurely.

“This cooking method is something I newly developed. I haven’t named it yet, but…”

“Confit, right?”

“…Huh?”

But what came out of Kurt’s mouth was completely different from what she had expected.

It wasn’t tears of overwhelming emotion, nor an admission of defeat, nor a desperate plea to become her disciple.

And at this point, Liche sensed something was wrong.

“The cooking method used in this steak. It’s confit, isn’t it?”

“Co-confit… what?”

“Ah, right. The name might be different here. Confit is a method of cooking meat by submerging it in oil at a low temperature for a long time. I didn’t think confit would exist here too.”

And then, from Kurt’s mouth came the cooking method she had desperately pondered over for days, inspired, and then refined for days.

The method she had worked so hard to achieve.

Kurt explained it as casually as if he were discussing common knowledge.

Even with a deeper understanding of the method than she had.

Kurt, excitedly explaining the principles of confit cooking without even being asked, something she herself hadn’t fully understood.

Seeing that, the self-esteem that had made her so confident began to crumble.

“So, cooking at a low temperature prevents the tough components in the meat from changing, maintaining a tender texture… Clarice?”

“…Th-this can’t be.”

The reason she had been so confident.

The foundation of her recently inflated self-esteem.

The joy and certainty that she had surpassed Kurt, whom she had seen as an insurmountable wall.

Though she thought she was as calm as ever, in reality, her thoughts were filled with an excitement she couldn’t hide.

And it stemmed from the confidence that she had achieved the highest level of cooking skill, unbeatable within Astram.

Honestly, she felt like she had completely mastered cooking.

But the moment that foundational premise began to shake, so did the self-esteem that had kept her calm.

Then, someone delivered the final blow to the confused Liche.

“Ah, confit? Isn’t that what Kurt made yesterday? No wonder it tasted so familiar yet incredibly delicious.”

It was Mari’s innocent remark, devoid of any malice.

Though Mari surely meant no harm…

To Liche, those words were the most decisive blow.

Thus, her ego, inflated by a single success, collapsed without even a chance to show off.

“….”

“Huh? Liche, are you okay?”

Mari, worried, seeing Liche trembling.

“…Not yet.”

“Huh?”

*Thud*

“This isn’t the end!”

With that, Liche jumped up, pointed at Kurt, shouted loudly, and then fled back to her room.

No, not fled—she outright ran.

And as she ran, her eyes seemed to glisten with tears.

“…What’s wrong with her?”

“Who knows. Hmm. I wanted to discuss cooking more…”

“She has a strange habit of storming off during meals, just like last time.”

“Don’t be too harsh. People who love cooking aren’t bad people.”

Thus, Kurt defended Liche and took another bite of the confit.

*Munch munch*

“Hmm. Cockatrice meat has this kind of flavor. The taste is very stable.”